Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition
The classic RTS returns with a few quality of life improvements and some new campaigns and it's still a very good game. I would've like if they had added a few more feature (mostly the chance to keep producing units like in Age of Mythology), but anyway it's still a classic and I've spent more than 30 hours in it, enjoying my time with the classic campaigns or some random map against the AI.
Amid Evil
Not the best retro-FPS I've played, but still it's one of the best and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Its best assets are the level design, which is great with well thought out maps that vary a lot from chapters to chapters and also are quite complex, and the weapons you can use to kill the very many enemies you'll face while playing the game, they're all quite original and cool, both in how they look and how they play. Overall, a very good shooter.
Ape Out
I liked how it combined gameplay and music in a quite unique way and also the flow of the gameplay is really well though and fun.
A Plague Tale: Innocence
A quite linear and very narrative-driven experience, but that's not necessarily a problem for me. The medieval setting is intriguing, the bond between the two brothers is well portrayed, the soundtrack is good and the game is visually stunning, but sadly the story didn't turned out to be as good as I hoped and the second half of the game is not as intriguing as the first one (narratively, I mean), also beside the two main protagonist the rest of the cast could've been more fleshed out, especially the villains that are the just as stereotipically evil as they get, with no depth, no charisma, no reedeming qualities, nothing.
Bayonetta
I have no experience whatsover with action stylish, in fact Bayo is my first attempt with the genre and it's a very good game. I didn't love it, but it's difficult not to recognize its many strenghts, many of them revolving around the combat system of course. It's also very over the top in pretty much everything, but it's done with style, and soundtrack is also great. One flaw, tho: boss fights are not really that good imo, especially the gigantic ones, while the (sadly not so common) human-sized ones are way better.
Bloodborne
I'm not really a From Software fan (also, I've just played two of their games) but this one is really great. The setting is intriguing and oozing with atmosphere, combat system is probably the best you'll find in any action RPGs, art direction is great, there are also a lot of good and intense boss fights and other memorable moments.
Call of Duty
I played the game in 2003 or 2004 and I remembered it as a great shooter, alas when I replayed it some months ago it couldn't really live up to the memories I had of the game. Overall, I wouldn't say it's bad, but it's too scripted and sometimes that gets in the way of fun, especially when you die because you're 20 cm left then where the designers want you to be or other such bullshit.
Call of Duty 2
This one I didn't play back in the day and I've found it worse than its predecessor, it felt even more scripted and the change from classic health system to autoregen is decline in my book. It's also more frustrating (played on the second hardest mode btw) than the previous CoD because now, since you regenerate your health, enemies strike you even more accurately and harder when you pop out of cover, this combined with a not so good checkpoint system (another decline) made some sections of the game feel cheap and a bit unfair. Overall, I still wouldn't call it a bad game, but it's worse than CoD1 and it's been a huge disappointment.
Chrono Trigger
I don't really love JRPGs, but this has always been described as one of the very best so I gave it a try. Well, it's a not an excellent game in my view, but it's good, although maybe not as much as its fame would led to believe. Combat system is quite limited as often is the case with JRPGs but at least the fact that every enemy has weakness and strenghts elevate the cs a bit above the genre's average, since you have to vary your tactics at least a bit compare to other games where you can just spam "attack" each turn and be done with it. Story is simple but also well done, characters are not as the most flashed out I've seen but they work and the time travel gimmick is fun. Also, it's nice to see that Toriyama always makes the same drawings.
Dark Souls
People love this game really a lot and I can understand why, but it's not one of my favourite games because combat, while good, also suffers from a few problems, like weird hitboxes, a flawed camera that sometimes gets in the way and other technical issues that can get you dead even when you make no mistake, also I think most boss fights aren't good and the last part of the game is definitely not as inspired as the previous parts. Still, it's a great game because of its amazing level and world design, the richly crafted setting, the environmental narration, and even the combat system is good, even if it's not as polished as Bloodborne's one.
Dead Space
I always ignored this game for some reason, but now that I've played it I have to say that it's a very good game. It's not really that scary, but it has a well crafted setting inspired by both Alien and System Shock: navigating the space station is always nice, the atmosphere is great and also it feels like a proper space station in which actual people could live and work. Also, the action is satisfying, the weapons you can use (and upgrade) are varied and each can add something to your playstyle, the idea of having to chop limbs instead of shooting the aliens' head is cool and well used by the developers. Plot is... well, I'd say ok and some plot twists were quite obvious long before they were finally revealed, but that's not really that important in this kind of game.
Disco Elysium
My RPG of the year and also my GOTY, definetely. I loved every minute spent in Martinaise, mostly because of the rich narrative and the great dialogues but also because of the very intriguing (and unique) setting and also for some gameplay reasons, like how you interact with parts of your psyche during your playthrough, how your choices shape (at least a bit) your thoughts, the thought cabinet... it's mostly a game for storyfags, and I have no problem with those.
Doom (1993)
Played this year for the first time and well, I didn't expect it to be so fun to play even 26 years after its original realease. But it is, the action is fast-paced and engaging from the get-go, the enemies are varied and fun, level design is great with big maps full of secrets but at the same time, they're not too huge and confusionary, always maintaining the player focusing on killing hordes of demons. A true masterpiece.
Doom II: Hell on Earth
I liked it but not as much as the first one, mainly because levels got a bit too big and complex to the point of getting in the way of the killings at times and because there are more hitscan enemies that are well, not so fun to play with honestly. It's still a very nice shooter, though, gunplay is still great, movement fast and intense, enemies varied and fun ('cept the hitscan enemies) and the levels, while overall inferior to the previous Doom imo, are still good and occasionally even great (with some mediocre or bad ones in the mix, tho).
Duke Nukem 3D
One of my buggest disappointments, sadly. Level design is great and definetely the game's greatest asset, but combat encounters are really nowhere near being as fun as Doom, and most of the enemies are also hitscan. Also, enemy placement is sometimes very cheap and unfair, especially some of the midbosses. It's not, by all means, a bad game, levels are huge and full of stuff to find out and multiple ways to proceed, but when you're playing a shooter and you're not enjoying killing enemies that much... it's a problem.
Dusk
The best retro-FPS I've played and by far. It plays like Quake, which is great, but is also inspired by Blood, Doom and a few other 90s FPS. Dusk features a great level design, with a lot of variation in enemies and situations you can find yourself in, from usual arenas filled with enemies to more slow-paced and atmospheric horror levels, a few weird ones too, but its main strenght lies in the shooting and the action, satisfying, fast and always intense. The only flaw I can think of is that the weapons themselves are not really original, but they're still very fun to use so it's no big deal.
Final Fantasy IX
If the last chapter was as inspired as the previous ones it could've even had a higher score maybe, but still it's a very charming and fun JRPG. Characters are a bit stereotyped at first but are more fleshed as time passes and while none is really excellent they're still good, the setting is a throwback to classic fantasy after the more cyberpunk/sci-fi previous instalments of the series and it's very charming, story is well told (although it gets a bit weird in the last part... not really the best spin they could go for, imo) and the soundtrack is amazing.
GreedFall
A bit above average but not much more than that.
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice
It's a unique game, mainly because of its protagonist's psychosis which is featured in the game in an interesting way, the narration is really the focus of the experience here and luckily it is well done and also accompanied by a stunning art direction. I've liked it a lot, although the core gameplay is quite mediocre and repetitive.
Horizon: Zero Dawn
When I found out that it was written by Gonzalez, New Vegas's lead writer, I had some expectations for this game, but it's about as mediocre as they come, instead. It's a Ubisoft style open world, filled with meaningless icons and repetitive activities to engage in (almost all of which are quite boring), the world is more static an bland than a lot of older titles, NPCs almost have no routine at all and even merchants shop are open at every hour of the day (or night), secondary quests are subpar and even the main ones are not that good either and writing is just bad. Combat against machines (only against machines, because fights vs humans are terrible) is the only good thing the game has to offer and obviously it's not enough.
Inside
From the creators of Limbo, a game that is quite similar in a lot of ways, mostly how it plays and how it (silently) narrates its story and world. Art direction is gourgeous, imo better than Limbo's, gameplay is okay, puzzles are not really hard but after all this is not a hard game, even if you can die more than a few times (sometimes in brutal ways, too). I didn't really liked the ending part, tho.
Mafia
I had played it more than 15 years ago so I wanted to replay and see how it fared against the tides of time and... it's still a masterpiece, no doubt about that. Aside from the story and the characters, this time I could also appreciate the gameplay sessions more than I did when I first played it as a teenager, and especially how they're well thought out and coherent with the experience the devs want you to make. Some missions could have used a bit more polish, but most of them are really great and memorable. It's still one of my favourite games of all time and anyone who hasn't yet played should definitely do so.
Mafia II
Another replay, this one I remember was a huge let down back in 2010, not because I found it a bad game overall but because it didn't really live up to its predecessor's name, but playing through the first one made me want to come back to this too. It's how I remembered it, mostly, it has a lot of nice features, a good script (for 2/3 of the game at least), a good core gameplay, but also sadly you can see that it was released unfinished, and the last third of the game is nowhere near the quality of the previous sections. With a bit more polish and time for the devs to finish their vision, it could've been another classic, sadly it's not but it's still good, aside from the lackluster ending chapters.
Max Payne
Aside from Mafia, I also replayed the Max Payne series this year and they were as good as I remembered them to be. It's still a great TPS, possibly even the best, thanks to its rich storytelling, dark but charming atmosphere, Max's charisma and monologues and of course the tight controls and intense, over the top action that is still very fun to play today. Enemy placement isn't always the best and some sections are a bit cheap, but still overall it's a great classic and it deserves its fame.
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne
Almost as good as the first one, it keeps all the charms of the predecessors while improving the gameplay, with more polished and precise controls. Levels are still fun (with one exception) and there are less cheap enemy encounters now, but it comes at the cost of the difficulty, that has been lowered quite a bit, more than it needed it to be. Story is still very good, although the tone is quite different and production values are even higher than before, although the game is a bit shorter than MP1. To me it's near MP1's quality, even if it's less original and well basically a more of the same.
Max Payne 3
Rockstar's attempt with the series features a very different Max (not just aesthetically) and a story that is not as good as the previous ones, even if the writing has its charms, but surprisingly it offers one of the best TPS gameplay ever made. The shooting is very refined, enemies react coherently with every hit and with differences depending on where you land the hit. Levels are more linear and cutscenes a bit too intrusive, and there's also a new multiplayer mode that, surprisingly, is very funny. Again, it's different from Remedy's MP but it's still a great TPS.
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault
The predecessor to Call of Duty that I liked quite a lot more than CoD, even if the gunplay is less refined than in the Activision series. Levels, tho, are bigger, more open and most of all, less scripted, resulting in a much more interesting gameplay action, and also the levels are quite varied, sometimes featuring even stealth and infiltration, and even if the stealth system could definitely use some improving, they add to the experience and made me like the game more the more tight and linear CoD 1 and 2 games.
Metal Gear Solid
One of the biggest disappointments of the year, definitely. A lot of people love this game but honestly I hated almost every moment in which I was actively playing the game. I play a lot of games from the 90s so I'm not the kind of guy that only plays new stuff, but MGS really aged poorly: controls are really clumsy, the camera show you so little of the screen that you can't even rely on it to see enemies and avoid them (and it's a stealth-focused game) forcing you to watch the little radar all the time, which is already bad but also you don't have the radar available all the time and when you don't you might as well be blind since camera is useless if you want to play stealthly. Story is full anime, not a style that I like that much but it has its moments, the cutscene direction is great (especially for the time) and some ideas are interesting and intriguing but it's not enough to save it for me.
Nier
Combat is action-oriented but very mediocre, prone to button mashing and also quite repetitive, technically it's more a PS2 game than a PS3-360 game but of course it's a vg that you play for the story, which is good actually, even if too Japanese for my taste, especially the characters. Writing is generally good but with some highs and lows (like this guy you meet at a certain point and then 10 minutes later he's saying things like "no don't do that, you're my best friend ever, how can I live without you" that lol), there are also some interesting twists but not everyone lands perfectly imo. Still, it has its charms.
Portal 2 coop campaign
Portal 2 is a terrific single player game, but it's only this year that I played and finished the coop campaign and it's very good as well, with more complex and challenging puzzles and a new storyline that expands on GlaDOS and Aperture Science. And of course it's fun to play with a friend, helping each other, sometimes even pranking each other and listening to the IA's monologues as we clear puzzle chambers.
Red Dead Redemption (replay)
I love westerns but sadly it's an underused setting in videogames. Luckily for people like me that love to see (and play as) cowboys, horses, assault at trains, Indians and all that stuff, there's Rockstar that decided to make a great addition to the genre, applying their usual open world formula with a few twists and featuring a great narrative and some very interesting and well fleshed out characters. I'm playing RDR2 right now that seems to be even better in some regards but I have yet to finish that, so until that John Marston will remain my favourite videogame cowboy.
Shenmue
I also played this classic for the first time this year and, while some of its features are not as impressive as they were back when it was originally released, it's still a very good game experience, in a kind of an open world that is somewhat limited in scope but very well crafted, with a level of detail that is not usually seen even in far more recent productions. Every NPC is unique and has its own routine, the world feels alive and change day to day in a coherent way and the atmosphere is great. The job system is not as bad as some people would led to believe and actually I think the biggest flaw is how every quest reiterates and reuse the same pattern (go from A to B to find out this thing, B tells you to go to C, C tells you to go to D, etc). It's also a slow-paced game with very few action sequences (most concentrated in the last part of the game), but that I like. It's not perfect and it's not for everyone, but it's a very charming game experience and one I'm happy to having finally discovered.
Shenmue II
Well, there's not much to say after what I already wrote about the first one. The sequel is of course very similar but a bit more action-oriented. Overall, I have to say that I've preferred the first one's setting than the sequel's but it's still a very good game, with a few quality of life improvements. And the last section of the game is very charming as well, it's slow again after a few intense fights and QTE sections (this is the game that made them a thing, after all) but I really liked it precisely for that. Sadly Shenmue III seems to be of lesser quality than its two predecessor, but I will still play it in the future and see for myself.
Spyro: The Dragon
I never had a PlayStation when I was a child so I was always curious about this game, but I have to say it doesn't offer much now that I'm 28. It's very easy, colourful and a relaxing experience but it's not really that good as a game.
The Banner Saga
I've replayed it and it's still a somewhat simple but very effective RPG, where every choice seems to matter a lot and leaves you thinking if you made the right call or if you'll pay the consequences for your mistakes in the future. Not all the choices matter that much, actually, but the illusion of choice works perfectly and some choices actually have big repercussions later on. Combat is simple and would also be repetitive if the game was longer but it finishes before it become boring, art direction is outstanding, the setting very intriguing and the soundtrack is great. All in all a great experience and one of my favourite games to come out of Kickstarter.
The Banner Saga 2
The sequel improves on pretty much everything the first game did, especially in the gameplay department. Enemies are more varied, you have more heroes with different abilities as well, more tactics to use. The focus remains on the narrative and the choices to make and it's still a very nice and emotional journey.
The Beginner's Guide
I don't love walking simulators and this one is probably not as brilliant as Stanley Parable, although it's maybe even weirder. Still, it's a unique game and one I would advise to give it a try, unless you really hate this kind of experiences.
The Outer Worlds
I know I'm in the minority here in the Codex but I liked TOW, it's not as good as New Vegas, the game that inspired it, but it's still a nice open RPG that allows you to choose what kind of character you can make and how you can complete quests in the game world. Writing is not on par with past Obsidian games, which is the most disappointing thing about it, but still I'd say that overall the game's writing is okay, not great but not even terrible, and beyond that quest design is quite good, setting is a bit weird but intriguing and everything else is fine.
Thronebreaker: The Witcher Tales
It's a simpler game compared to The Witchers of course and I'm not that much of a Gwent fan to really like the idea of a game that revolves entirely around it, but still aside from that CDP writers are still among the best in the industry and the narrative is quite rich and engaging, expanding on previous events of the Witcher world and presenting the player with interesting choices that can lead to many different outcomes and ending. As a game it's limited but if you like the world created by Sapkowski you'll find another interesting tale to immerse yourself in.
Titanfall 2
Didn't even try the multiplayer, just the single-player campaign which is really good honestly. One level in particular is just great, the others are still well made with a lot of intense and fast action but also a bit of platforming and exploration. I really liked how they designed player's movements and I was skeptical of the mech fights, but those work wonders as well. Story is quite generic and the plot twists are predictable, but robot companion is well characterised.
Tomb Raider 2
I've liked it less than the predecessor because it features too many combat encounters, which are not really where the series (especially the old ones) shine, but still it's a good action adventure and some levels are even great. I'd give it a 7/10 or maybe even a 7,5 if I had to rate it, but still I think it lost some of the charm the original had and the focus on inserting more action sequences is not really the direction that fit the series, because it gets a bit in the way of the exploration and the puzzles, that were just better in the first one.
Uncharted: Lost Legacy
I don't love Uncharted but the fourth one I really liked, this one is basically a big DLC for 4 and in fact gameplay is pretty much the same, save for a more open ended level. Still, the characters and the narrative are not as compelling as 4's ones, even if it does feature a few more complex puzzles (at least compare to the series' standards). It's not bad by any means, but you can see that it's not ND's main production but just a seconday project thrown around while the major team works on the next big thing.
Vampire: The Masquerade - Coteries of New York
Basically a visual novel set in the World of Darkness. It's not that good but it has a few interesting tidbits for fans of the lore and getting back to the IP after 15 years is still nice, although of course it's just a little appetizer before Bloodlines 2... which I hope will be even half as good as the predecessor, but I guess we'll see about that.
Vampyr
Speaking of vampires, the new RPG from Dontnod has quite a few interesting concepts and ideas but they're not really as properly fleshed out as they could've been. The idea that you only gets stronger by feeding on humans is nice but it's not really in the game, since you can level up by doing other normal RPG stuff as well (you'll still be a bit underleveled but you can still finish the game even at max difficulty), the setting is really intriguing, story starts out strong as well but I think it doesn't really fulfill its initial promises and some parts of it felt a bit forced. Gameplay is okay, quite standard action RPG stuff but I expected it to be worse honestly, instead it does the job. Again, I wouldn't really call it a bad game, but they could've tried a bolder approach with it and it would've probably been better for it.
Yakuza Kiwami
Not as good as Yakuza 0, but still lots of fun to be had. Story is a bit convoluted but I guess that's a thing with Japanese devs (or with the Yakuza team, at least), Kiryu is still very charismatic, the setting is great and the side activities are fun and crazy.
Yakuza Kiwami 2
My third Yakuza game and I would rate it at about the same level as first Kiwami, so it's good but not as much as Yakuza 0 (from what I've heard it will probably remain the best Yakuza even if I try the rest of the series when they land on PC). The new engine is great tho, Kamurocho feels much more alive than before and you can finally explore it a bit even vertically, even if the new combat system is deprived of the three/four different styles and that is not great. The setting is still the biggest strenght of the series and basically a character in and of itself, changing with each chapter but still oozing with personality and full of stuff to do it, even beside the melodramatic and intense main quest.